In years past, I have tried to share the statistics of relevant minor leaguers at the end of their seasons. Typically these would arrive when the major league squad was still playing. But we’re still in the early part of the MLB playoffs, which means there really won’t be any news on the team I write about for a good month or so. What better time to see how the minor leaguers did than when there’s little else to talk about? So, let’s talk about the hitters in the system first.

JJ Wetherholt, IF – 22 (#1 VEB prospect)

Stats (AA): 62 G, 275 PAs, .300/.425/.466, 16 BB%, 14.5 K%, .166 ISO, .337 BABIP, 150 wRC+

AAA: 47 G, 221 PAs, .314/.416/.562, 12.7 BB%, 14.9 K%, .249 ISO, .333 BABIP, 156 wRC+

Asking for a friend: is it good when a player jumps a level and then his stats improve? He didn’t quite manage the absurd plate discipline numbers in Memphis that he had in Springfield, but it’s not like those K/BB numbers are anything to scoff at. He also made it not matter by having a lot more power. He hit three more homers despite 50 less PAs (same amount of doubles and triples).

Thomas Saggese, IF – 23 (#4 VEB prospect)

Stats (AAA): 42 G, 189 PAs, .317/.402/.445, 12.2 BB%, 23.8 K%, .128 ISO, .409 BABIP, 129 wRC+

I know he was in the majors for the 2nd half this season, but I think it’s a good reminder to see how well he played before he was promoted. There seemed to be a greater emphasis on his plate discipline numbers, vastly improved from 2024. It did seemingly come at the expense of power. The lack of power followed him to the MLB while the plate discipline did not. He kind of had the perfect season for justifying a trip back to the minors or a bigger MLB role depending on your viewpoint.

Jimmy Crooks, C – 23 (#5 VEB prospect)

Stats (AAA): 98 G, 430 PAs, .274/.337/.441, 8.4 BB%, 26.5 K%, .167 ISO, .352 BABIP, 104 wRC+

Another season where if one wants, one could look at his stats and say he needs to be in the MLB. A different person could look at those same stats and conclude he needs more AAA time. That’s because he had a very high BABIP, a higher K rate than he’d shown before, and both of those came with a marginally above average line. Throw in his failures at the MLB level and well I think he should go back to Memphis.

Matt Koperniak, OF – 27 (#14 VEB prospect)

Stats: 121 G, 536 PAs, .246/.317/.382, 9 BB%, 19.2 K%, .136 ISO, .283 BABIP, 84 wRC+

He did have a fantastic 2nd half, but he is simply too old to have a season this poor. He will get designated for assignment.

Stats (AA): 29 G, 129 PAs, .336/.380/.563, 6.2 BB%, 7.8 K%, .227 ISO, .327 BABIP, 155 wRC+

AAA: 53 G, 242 PAs, .335/.400/.521, 9.9 BB%, 10.3 K%, .186 ISO, .353 BABIP, 143 wRC+

I am honestly not a big believer in Nathan Church’s bat, emphasis on bat, so thank god he seems to be able to play possibly elite defense. And I know this is a weird thing to comment on given those stats, but it has more to do with his minor league history prior to 2025 and also his MLB performance.

Stats (AAA): 65 G, 293 PAs, .300/.428/.485, 15.4 BB%, 8.5 K%, .186 ISO, .311 BABIP, 145 wRC+

See the argument to sending down Saggese is essentially this guy. This guy needs more playing time and I’m glad he performed well in his limited time in the majors this year, because seriously between this year and last, his AAA performance is kind of absurd.

Stats (AAA): 121 G, 515 PAs, .300/.363/.452, 7.6 BB%, 13.6 K%, .152 ISO, .335 BABIP, 116 wRC+

I wish Prieto had this season in 2024 at the age of 25, and I might be able to talk myself into him. Even with the five strikeouts in six plate appearances in his first MLB season.

Stats (AA): 44 G, 176 PAs, .320/.415/.513, 12.5 BB%, 10.8 K%, .193 ISO, .333 BABIP, 167 wRC+

AAA: 85 G, 368 PAs, .248/.291/.423, 5.7 BB%, 11.1 K%, .175 ISO, .247 BABIP, 84 wRC+

As disappointing as Jordan’s short tenure with the Cardinals has been, if you take a longer view of his 2025, it’s much more encouraging. Jordan was traded after spending his last five years in Boston – he was 17 when he was drafted – and I can’t help but think that may have played a role. In addition, as you can see, it was mostly a BABIP issue. His K/BB numbers were similar in both Boston and St. Louis, and so was his power. His BABIP was so much worse. Jordan with a .300 BABIP in AAA and we’re a lot more positive on this guy.

Chase Davis, OF – 23 (#7 VEB prospect)

Stats: 113 G, 494 PAs, .242/.358/.353, 13.6 BB%, 29.6 K%, .111 ISO, .345 BABIP, 103 wRC+

As someone who seems to be turning into the resident Chase Davis defender, compare Davis’ stats this year to Nathan Church in AA last year. He was the same age as Davis. There’s been positive reports on Davis’ defense too. My point is that we literally saw an example of why not to give up on a guy.

Leonardo Bernal, C – 21 (#8 VEB prospect)

Stats: 110 G, 437 PAs, .247/.332/.403, 10.8 BB%, 16.9 K%, .146 ISO, .319 BABIP, 101 wRC+

Here’s some irony. I may have been the low man on Davis and the high man on Bernal prior to the season. I had Bernal fifth and Davis 9th on my prospect rankings. Until I saw Bernal’s stats, I hadn’t realized there is a possibility that the Cardinals could put Crooks back in AAA and also have Bernal repeat AA. In Bernal’s case, you’d have a very quick trigger to promote him whereas with Crooks, you’d wait for an injury. I don’t think they will do that, but I don’t think it’s out of the question either.

Stats (High A): 38 G, 168 PAs, .317/.404/.483, 10.7 BB%, 21.4 K%, .166 ISO, .400 BABIP, 153 wRC+

AA: 79 G, 331 PAs, .271/.374/.509, 12.4 BB%, 20.2 K%, .238 ISO, .294 BABIP, 139 wRC+

I won’t go as far as to say that his numbers improved upon promotion, but it is rather remarkable how less reliant he was on BABIP to achieve a fairly close line to what he did in High A. I also didn’t realize how long he actually ended up playing in AA. Very little chance he’s not in AAA next season.

Stats (High A): 82 G, 346 PAs, .236/.373/.377, 16.2 BB%, 18.2 K%, .141 ISO, .277 BABIP, 120 wRC+

AA: 26 G, 103 PAs, .275/.350/.484, 9.7 BB% 21.4 K%, .209 ISO, .318 BABIP, 126 wRC+

In a much less reliable way than Baez, Levenson also seemingly rose from the dead to bring himself back to being a contender for a top 20 list. I say less reliable, because Levenson is older, more of his season is him playing well at a lower level, and he has a very small sample in AA. Nonetheless, the depth of outfield got a long stronger because of Church, Baez, and Levenson in 2025, none of whom were particularly close to being prospects entering 2025.

Stats: 116 G, 487 PAs, .204/.298/.319, 9.9 BB%, 27.7 K%, .115 ISO, .272 BABIP, 73 wRC+

It is possible, probably even likely that Rivas will never be able to hit to become an effective MLBer. But despite the much worse line than last year, he at least got his power to a respectable level – a level that can be a future MLBer. Assuming he comes back in 2026, the next step is keeping that power while getting the rest of his offensive game back where it was when he had no power.

Travis Honeyman, OF – 23 (#19 VEB prospect)

Stats (Low A): 29 G, 130 PAs, .321/.446/.443, 15.4 BB%, 14.6 K%, .123 ISO, .376 BABIP, 159 wRC+

High A: 53 G, 228 PAs, .268/.390/.322, 11.8 BB%, 18.9 K%, .055 ISO, .333 BABIP, 114 wRC+

Honeyman is a very hard prospect to grade, because I’m guessing the one thing that would certainly get impacted if one were to be rusty from a lack of playing (due to injuries), that thing would be power. Honeyman had none of it in Peoria. He will be going to the AFL and I really hope he finds power there, because that is a very easy place to find power and I’ll be concerned if he has anywhere close to as little power as he did in Peoria.

Won-Bin Cho, OF – 21 (#21 VEB prospect)

Stats: 90 G, 368 PAs, .236/.346/.342, 13.6 BB%, 23.6 K%, .105 ISO, .308 BABIP, 102 wRC+

It cannot be overstated how big of an improvement these numbers are over last season. He had worked hard all year to improve his K/BB numbers and they did but he didn’t have a lot to show for it until the 2nd half. And then he hit 5 of his 6 homers from July 31st to the end of the season (which ended on September 9th) and he suddenly re-entered the prospect discussion.

Stats: 103 G, 442 PAs, .242/.326/.387, 10.4 BB%, 18.1 K%, .144 ISO, .268 BABIP, 113 wRC+

Like Blaze Jordan, Baez also initially struggled in his first games in a new place. He recovered a lot better than Jordan did, although his line as a Cardinal is still a little below average. I honestly had thought Baez was 21, but actually he still isn’t 21. His birthday isn’t until next February.

Stats (Low A): 77 G, 320 PAs, .285/.406/.446, 15.3 BB%, 27.5 K%, .162 ISO, .386 BABIP, 145 wRC+

High A: 30 G, 130 PAs, .336/.438/.500, 13.8 BB%, 22.3 K%, .164 ISO, .436 BABIP, 169 wRC+

Now that the Cardinals have a new man in charge, minor league promotions are less telling. How quickly a guy is promoted told you a lot about how the Cardinals viewed a prospect. That could still be true, but I don’t know. I will say if Ortiz begins next season in Springfield, I’m jumping fully on the bandwagon.

Stats: 87 G, 371 PAs, .247/.354/.351, 10.8 BB%, 13.2 K%, .104 ISO, .278 BABIP, 108 wRC+

If you’re a fan who doesn’t like strikeouts, you’re in luck. The Cardinals have a lot of guys in their system who do not strike out. The negative though is that most of the guys who don’t strike out probably won’t make the majors. Petruz may be an exception, but he’ll probably need to find a bit more power.

Stats (Low A): 42 G, 183 PAs, .244/.311/.488, 5.5 BB%, 26.2 K%, .244 ISO, .291 BABIP, 120 wRC+

High A: 58 G, 243 PAs, .211/.288/.385, 9.1 BB%, 26.7 K%, .174 ISO, .255 BABIP, 88 wRC+

I’m choosing to believe that Kross’s plate approach suffered in Palm Beach because he became a bit homer happy. When he was struggling more in Peoria, it looks like he took better at-bats, but he wasn’t a better hitter if that makes sense.

Stats: 95 G, 421 PAs, .235/.356/.340, 15.2 BB%, 17.6 K%, .105 ISO, .289 BABIP, 106 wRC+

Campos is a very short catcher at 5’8, so the knock on him has always been his lack of potential power. That said, his plate approach looks very good and should carry him to the brink of the majors at least.

Stats (CPX): 20 G, 80 PAs, .373/.513/.831, 20 BB%, 18.8 K%, .458 ISO, .385 BABIP 237 wRC+

Low A: 60 G, 271 PAs, .249/.373/.498, 14 BB%, 17.7 K%, .249 ISO, .261 BABIP, 145 wRC+

I am aware he ended the season in Peoria, but he played in 4 total games, so he belongs here. So Rodriguez was Barry Bonds in the complex league and that’s not even an exaggeration. Granted, it’s only 20 games. He was not Barry Bonds in Palm Beach, but he was an 18-year-old who managed to have an astonishing amount of power at a place where it is incredibly hard to have even a little bit of power for players much older than him.

Stats (Low A): 89 G, 360 PAs, .235/.362/.294, 12.8 BB%, 18.6 K%, .058 ISO, .295 BABIP, 101 wRC+

Case in point. Hernandez had zero power in Low A. I would even argue he took a step back this year, because he had a 121 wRC+ at the same level last season. I’m not really sure what changed, but he didn’t get even a little bit better at any level of offense. Hopefully, the same cannot be said of his defense.

Chase Heath, C – 21 (20th round, 2025)

Stats: 16 G, 58 PAs, .267/.431/.489, 20.7 BB%, 20.7 K%, .222 ISO, .300 BABIP, 164 wRC+

It’s only 58 plate appearances, but that certainly is a level of dominating you simply do not expect a 20th rounder to provide at an age appropriate level. Another player where if the Cardinals put him in Peoria, it will tell you the Cardinals believe in this small sample of games.

Jack Gurevitch, 1B (3rd round, 2025)

Stats: 22 G, 99 PAs, .181/.303/.253, 13.1 BB%, 33.3 K%, .072 ISO, .280 BABIP, 71 wRC+

Not the most exciting start to a pro career. Because he was such a high pick, I wouldn’t automatically say he is repeating Low A. The Cardinals have occasionally still promoted a draft pick who underwhelmed to finish out his draft year. There’s usually a reason for that. He should at the very least be on the quick promotion plan if he does find himself back at Palm Beach.

To save myself some time, I am going to spare you from sharing the stats of additional picks from this most recent draft. Most of them have bad stats and none of them are exciting. 9th rounder Michael Dottalo had a 98 wRC+ with a .069 ISO and he’s by far the best of the bunch. So let’s just have a blanket “This roughly month’s worth of games does not actually tell us much, especially on the heels of being a pro for the first time, playing against the hardest competition of their lives in a longer season than they’re used to playing.”

Jonathan Mejia, 2B/SS – 20

Stats: 74 G, 304 PAs, .183/.303/.308, 14.2 BB%, 32.7 K%, .125 ISO, .270 BABIP, 81 wRC+

When you see all the ISOs of the players who played at Palm Beach – excluding Rodriguez of course – you come away more impressed with a .125 ISO than you normally would. Which is to say that he showed some pop this year, believe it or not, and an ability to walk, but not much else.

Stats: 78 G, 335 PAs, .214/.334/.362, 13.7 BB%, 22.7 K%, .149 ISO, .254 BABIP, 104 wRC+

2024’s 9th rounder put forth a perfectly acceptable season where the only real fault is that he’s a bit older than most of his competition.

I’ll stop here. I am going to do the pitcher version of this on Thursday and I think I’ll do a rookie leagues version as well. As you can see, this was getting a bit long. Doing a rookies-only version will allow me to cover more names, which will likely mean I won’t only be sharing the good stats. But we can dig a bit deeper instead of making this post insanely long or very briefly covering the rookie leagues.